The final VA Caverns Verdict

So, today, we disappeared into our final caverns – the Grand Caverns in the aptly named town of Grottoes. Our tour guide was Barbara and the group was about 10 in number. You may wonder whether one gets bored of visiting so many caverns, but I have to say, I was as awe-struck today as I was in Skyline Caverns 5 days ago.

The Grand Caverns are wonderous. Everywhere one looks, there are huge rock curtains draping all the walls and subdivinding the rooms. The particular speciality of Grand Caverns are the Shield formations (over 250 in the caves, I was told). These are huge plate-like structures that protrude from the ceiling, from the floor, from the walls… sometimes at the most impossible and precarious angles. Apparently one shield weighs as much as a VW Beetle and hangs from the ceiling at an odd angle, making a clam shape with another shield. Amazing. (But I would still rather have the Beetle, as long as it is a cabriolet…)

The tour took about an hour and a half and Barbara inspired us with her excellent information along the way – not too much, not too little, but enough to make it interesting and to encourage people to ask questions. She was older than Dillon (of Endless Caverns) and more matronly in her ways, compared to Dillon’s youthful “coolness”, but the two of them were definitely the best of all the tour guides.

I was left speechless again at the enormous flowstone formations and the pinnancles rising from every surface. These caves were discovered in 1804 and opened to the public in 1806. One particular cave was used for dances by candlelight in the 1800′s – I would love to have been there! Luckily they realised how much damage the soot was doing and ceased this practice after a while. Barbara pointed out the routes that the visitors took in bygone days. Today, the paths are gravel-covered and easy to traverse. In those days, one climbed all over the formations to get to the next chamber. And where we took about 30 minutes to reach a certain point, they would have needed 6-8 hours using candles for light.

In 2004 a further massive chamber was discovered linking in to the ones that were already known about (this time found by a dog called Rosie – dogs are obviously vital in chamber-discovery!). I saw a little of the video that shows how one gets to the new chambers and it is what my nightmares are made of – spaces so small that there is no room to sneeze! The most the public will see of these is on the video. But it does make one wonder how many other caves are waiting to be found…

As a final comment on the Shenendoah Caverns then – which were the best? Well, my two favourites would have to be the Endless Caverns and the Grand Caverns. Spectacular. Amazing. Awe-inpiring. Not too commercial. Good guides. Small groups. The formations definitely rival the Luray Caverns. And both have a “real” feeling to them. One is always aware that one is inside the ground, which conjures a certain respect whereas in Luray, one feels that one is almost in a theme park.

Thanks to all those who gave the tours. I loved them! I will be back. I just don’t know when…

Dinky Dixies and other such things

1. Today started in Roanoke – a really lovely little town (centre) with a lot of historical feeling. They were just celeberating 25 years of something, so they had a band playing in  the market sqaure – a market square which has been in use since 1882. It had a lovely European feel to it and the people were so incredibly friendly and helpful! A big “thumbs up” to Roanoke.

Especially worth a mention was the jewellery made by by Anne Vaughan. She has some beautiful designs, all handmade – just what we like!

Also worth a mention in Roanoke is the O.Winston Link Museum. No, I had never heard of him or it before, but after having been there, one feels as though one has got to know him. He was an engineer, born in 1914, who had a passion for steam trains, which showed itself mostly in his excellent photographs of them. Most of his pictures are in black and white and evoke a sense of a bygone time. Often the engines are not largest feature in the picture, but they always command attention. – Definitely worth a look at his site if you like photography at all. This Soul Catcher Site has an excellent number of his pictures on show – have a look!

A short film in the museum introduces O. Winston Link (first name Ogle… and initials spelling OWL – can it get better than that?) and after watching it I was almost in tears that he had died in 2001. His love of the engines was infectious and although I have a leaning towards railway engines anyway, I almost cried with him when it was decided to stop the 1218 and the 611 engines running.

Even if you are not into engines, I would recommend going, just to feel the passion of one man and what it can bring about.

Near Roanoke are the Dixie Caverns in Salem. Dinky Dixie Dog. The caverns were discovered by a dog called Dixie – I love it!
These caverns are the smallest we have been to so far – really only one large chamber. They have lovely tiled walkways and a fantastic “wedding bell” formation under which one can get married (if you want). Worth seeing? Defintely. If one was only going to visit one set of caverns, would these be the ones? No. The tour is short-ish at 45 minutes and the guide we had was quite amusing, but not in Dillon’s league. My top two caverns are still Endless and Luray, just because they are such a contrast to each other and both have unique selling points. Hopefully I have yet to see Grand Caverns. I wonder how they will measure up?

The last stop today was the Natual Bridge. This is a very impressive natural rock formation, which one has to pay quite a bit to view. Yes, it is worth it, but I am not so impressed by the enormous tourist hoo-ha that goes on around it. I am sure others find it very exciting. Thankfully you don’t have to buy a ticket for everything – you can leave it at just paying for walking down (and then back up ) 137 steps to doodle along the trickle of a river running under the arch. If you don’t fancy the steps up again, there is a shuttle.
The arch itself is indeed awe-inpsiring. Truly massive. However, my young sons were less impressed.

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Under the Shenandoah

Well, I am out and about without Plum at the moment. She is having a well deserved rest after her tour of the UK.

I have been discovering some amazing caverns around the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia (USA) and they have been truly breathtaking. I was not expecting to find anything like this, but each cavern that I visit is more exciting than the last and each in a different way.

The first caverns visited were the Skyline Caverns just outside Front Royal in the Shenandoah. The tour group was small and the guide had a somewhat shrill voice, but what she said was very informative and the cave formations were amazing. The set-up there was a small affair, where one felt that one went back in time. It was all a little ramshackle, which added to the effect. The most high-tech the tour got was the use of coloured lights and the tour guide flashing two different spotlights on and off to make a stalagmite “person” dance. What else does one want though? (And there were no religious overtones, as I have read elsewhere.)

The next caves we went to were the Luray Caverns, funnily enough, in Luray. These were in complete contrast to the Skyline caverns – a huge tourist thing going on with an enormous car park and all sorts of other attractions (for example: fudge-making – yes, the fudge is definitely worth sampling, and a car museum with one of Rudolph Valentino’s cars in it, amongst other things).
The caverns themselves were awe-inspiring. From the very first moment one went down into the depths (remember to take a jacket!), we couldn’t help but say “oo” and “ah” at almost every moment of the hour-long tour. Each “room” was more amazing than the last. I kept thinking that it just couldn’t keep going on, but it did! The formations were enormous and the caves, vast.
The main “event” in these caverns (excluding the ghosts, shaggy dogs, bacon pieces and the like) is the organ that plays in the grand hall. Particularly tuneful stalactites and stalagmites have been wired up to be hit with little rubber hammers when the organ is played. The tour guide sets it going automatically on the tour, which makes a fairytale-like tune echo through the chambers.
I forgave the large tour-group size, seeing numerous other tour groups as we went around, the utterly bored tone of the guide and even the touristy happenings on the surface – I wouldn’t have missed these caves.

Today we visited our third caverns – the Endless Caverns in New Market, just near Luray (just outside the Shenandoah National Park). I was relieved to find the car park small and mostly empty and no other large tourist attractions vying for attention.
The tour group was quite small and the tour guide, Dillon was amusing in his “I’m not really interested, because I’m too cool, but actually I am quite interested in the caves and I go caving in them” way.
These caverns really felt as though they were taking you into the earth. The walkways were twisty, small and slippery, with boulders and rocks lying where they had fallen (although not on the pathways).
Dillon was good natured in his banter and he made sure that he turned off the lights quite quickly, meaning that if you got left behind, you would truly get left behind!
Once the lights are off, the caverns are thoroughly pitch black and the the lights are kept off to stop the algae growing on the stalactites and stalagmites.
These walkways went on and on, and the caverns are known as “endless” since no-one has yet found their end. How wonderful – although I wouldn’t want to be the one to climb through the gaps in the dark, looking for it.
These caverns were also well worth a visit. Completely different in feeling to the first two. More relaxed and somehow more “real”. And Dillon made it complete – thanks Dillon!

(Unfortunately my photos do no justice to the vastness nor the awesome quality of the caves.)

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